How The Rise of Skywalker’s ‘big moment’ could have taken a cue from the Marvel Cinematic Universe
By Pete Hernandez III
An enjoyable, albeit somewhat uneven film, The Rise of Skywalker in its ‘biggest moment’ could have taken a nod from the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s own big film earlier in the year.
As they say, hindsight is 20/20, and perhaps I’m in the minority when writing this but...when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker released its final trailer just ahead of its December 2019 release I was, for lack of a better word, unimpressed? Or perhaps, in layman’s terms, I just wasn’t as “hyped” as I feel I should have been.
That’s a strong statement for a franchise like Star Wars, but ultimately the final film pegged as not only the final chapter in the new sequel trilogy but for the entire Skywalker saga didn’t initiate as much excitement (in my eyes) as it should have been.
Not enough excitement compared to the two films that preceded it, and, dare I say, as much as 2019’s biggest blockbuster.
Avengers: Endgame by no means would be the last Marvel Studios film for the foreseeable future, but it marked the end of the Infinity Saga, an 11-year journey of storytelling and the building of a universe. Endgame generated plenty of excitement that ultimately paid off for a film that was meant to be “the end.”
The Rise of Skywalker and Endgame, both Disney properties, each had their own “cinematic moment” that was meant to encompass the culmination of years of storytelling.
But only one film hit the mark, and it wasn’t the one taking place in a galaxy far far away.
When the portals scene unfolded on-screen and we witnessed literally every single hero join together, it was truly a culmination of eleven years’ worth of storytelling and universe building. Captain America finally uttering “Avengers Assemble!” was significant because Marvel had long built and “teased” towards that moment over the course of years.
The Rise of Skywalker should have created that same sense of excitement when Lando Calrissian united all of the allies of the Resistance in the final act, correct? But it ultimately didn’t feel like the big moment it should have been, instead, it felt somewhat secondary compared to Rey and Ben Solo’s battle with the Emperor.
It’s understandable, however, because we’ve built that relationship between Rey and Ben (Kylo Ren) over the course of a trilogy.
But if they wanted the payoff of witnessing Lando uniting the allies in the final act, it should have been constructed from the start of the new sequel trilogy. It should have been communicated over the course of three movies (which at the time had three different directors) on the course this trilogy was meant to embark on.
Does this make The Rise of Skywalker a “bad movie” per se? No, it is still, by all means, an enjoyable Star Wars film. But if Lucasfilm was going for an “Endgame” type of moment in the final act, it missed an opportunity that they should have worked towards much, much earlier.
